


between one moment and the rest

by whyask



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Comfort, Coming Out, Developing Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Short, Soft boys are soft, bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whyask/pseuds/whyask
Summary: Just a quiet moment between Patty and TK, where they have some feelings but aren't good at talking about them in the slightest. They manage to have one conversation in the middle of the night.
Relationships: Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Comments: 17
Kudos: 135





	between one moment and the rest

“Hey Bud, you awake?” TK called out in the darkness, the words coming out a little muffled by his cheek pressed to Nolan’s chest.

“No.” Came the mumbled response from above him, Nolan giving him a small squeeze.

“It’s late Teeks.” He added. TK had not realized that he was almost vibrating with a repressed need to move around, to speak, to just do something until he felt Nolan’s hand on his back. Not rubbing or massaging, almost like he was stroking him or petting him. He wanted to be indignant about it but it felt kind of nice. 

He could feel Nolan take a deep breath, TK’s cheek lifting up a little at the movement.

“Is it something dumb?” Nolan asked put out.

TK could feel his shoulders lose some tension he had been holding onto, could feel his body respond to the hand, warm on his bare back. Warm like the summer sun out on the dock. 

He liked it. Felt familiar.

“Maybe. Not really. No.” Unsure, he rubbed his face against the soft cotton of Nolan’s shirt. He had put on a shirt after they fucked like a loser. Boxers TK understood, but a shirt really? 

“Fine, go ahead.” Nolan told him as he continued to run his hand up and down TK’s back, not unlike how you would calm a startled animal.

TK was silent for a while, there was a big difference between it happening and admitting it to Nolan. The difference was not well-known but it felt different. Especially when they had not officially defined whatever they had going for them. 

“I told my Dad.” TK admitted to Nolan’s left peck, he was working out and focusing on arm day more. It was kind of cute, muscley Patty.

“Oh? How did it go?”

“Fine. Said he's gonna need some time.” TK answered after a few moments of silence. 

“He didn’t like, do anything bad. He asked if I told my Mom. I told him I never told her but I think she knew.” TK whispered into the darkness. He paused letting a shuddering breath go. This was hard.

“Chase has known forever though. Since like before I went to Sarnia. Fucking rat used to snoop through my stuff.” He paused and inhaled the sleep warm scent of Nolan, the scent free detergent just smelled clean but it was easy to take in Nolan like this.

He smelled faintly of coffee beans and given his coffee addiction, it was always on him, but underneath was something. He didn’t have a name for it, it was clean but, just indescribable. It was like hockey but not like locker room or gear funk, and it was too clean to be sweat. It was just Nolan. 

TK could feel himself getting distracted, but Nolan was very distracting TK could not be blamed for this in his opinion.

“He said he’ll call me on the weekend, he just needed some time.” TK spoke out to the darkness.

“Could have told me earlier, Teeks.” Nolan told him plainly but, the hand on his back never slowed and the arm that had been at Nolan’s side found its way to TK’s hip, just holding.

“I know. My bad, man.” Nolan’s thumb rubbed small circles into the meat of his hip, stroking and touching gently. They were never this soft with each other, except maybe when Nolan’s brain was trying to melt out of his ears, TK got pretty soft when that happened and the after effects of a brain melting migraine.

They were both quiet for a while. Nolan pretty much never broke the silences, and TK never let them last for long. But it was hard to break this one. TK had begun to wonder if Nolan fell asleep, not that he could blame him. It was late and feelings were never Patty’s strong suit.

TK felt Nolan’s words more than he heard them, they were quiet even in the silence of Nolan’s bedroom, but they rumbled in his chest. 

“My sisters are visiting next month. You should do stuff with us.” The offer was on the table, he didn’t know how to help TK with his Dad. But, he wanted him to know that Nolan wanted him around, at least. That he told his Dad here and now for a reason, mostly so when Nolan visited in the Summer no one tried to make up the guest room. And he wanted to visit.

“They want to tell you embarrassing stories about how they bullied me.” Nolan added, TK snorted and smiled. That sounded nice.

“Yeah bud, I can come around, crash the Patrick sibling party. Was already planning on it, like I did last time.” He always hung out with Patty and his siblings, even if he had to call Patty, Nolan because all three of them responded when he called for Patty.

“It doesn’t have to be just buddies.” Nolan added, mumbly and barely above a whisper. Last time it was just buddies, what they had was very new. They might not have even had anything then. It was only a couple hand jobs before pregame naps and after drinking on the road. Only a couple kisses and those only when they were drunk.

They hadn’t talked about what they were, but they weren’t just that anymore. 

Their current position spoke to that. The two of them cocooned under comforters, and TK’s face mashed into his chest, Nolan’s hands all over him. Added that they had sex before bed, and even if they had not TK probably would still have slept over. He just might have been wearing a shirt.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, I can come as more than buddies. If that’s what you want.” TK told him between one yawn and the next.

“Yeah...Good. Can you let me sleep now?” Nolan asked voice taking a decidedly bitchy tone, but all fondness underneath. If TK wasn’t ready, they could keep talking. 

But he was tired.

“Yeah Bud.” TK muttered, as Nolan leaned down and kissed the top of his head. 

“Real fucking soft there, Pats.” TK teased but his heart clenched at the soft sweet kiss.

“Shut up.”

“Night.”

“Yeah, yeah night.” TK smiled and closed his eyes, settling. Between one breath and the next he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first fic I've written in close to eight years. Completely unbetaed. All mistakes are my own.


End file.
